The instant invention relates generally to pierced earrings and more particularly to an adaptor which enables a pierced earring of the type conventionally comprising an ornament and a metallic post to be converted into a pierced earring assembly having a plastic post.
It is well known in the art that pierced earrings are widely favored over clip-on or screw-back earrings because they are less likely to become inadvertently detached from the wearer's lobe and lost than are clip-on or screw-back earrings. However, one of more unfortunate drawbacks of pierced earrings is the fact that the wearer's lobe frequently becomes irritated or infected by repeated penetration of the metallic post through the pierced lobe of the wearer even where the post is fashioned from hypoallergenic metals such as surgical steel or gold.
The prior art has recognized this drawback and has attempted to remedy the problem by providing a plastic sleeve which is received over the metallic post of a conventional pierced earring so that the lobe does not make direct contact with the metallic post. This concept is embodied in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,341, to Ivey. While the plastic sleeve concept has met with some success, it has been found that it is not entirely practical because it significantly increases the diameter of the post and accordingly, people with small openings in their lobes may not be able to extend the post and sleeve through the opening. In other cases, the wearer must stretch their lobe openings to accommodate the increased diameter of the post. Still further, there is a problem associated with proper positioning of the sleeve on the post to prevent the wearer's lobe from contacting the post.
It has also been known in the art to completely replace the metallic post with a plastic post and to use a plastic clutch. This approach is embodied in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,540 to Cuvar wherein a plastic post is provided with an enlarged flange on one end thereof. The flange is adapted to be secured by cement to the back side of an ornament. One obvious drawback to this approach is that the back side of many earring have a curved configuration and it is nearly impossible to secure a flat flange to a curved surface.
The instant invention seeks to remedy the problems of the prior art by providing a novel post adaptor which enables a conventional pierced earring of the type having an ornament and a metallic post to be converted into a pierced earring assembly having a plastic post. Briefly, the adaptor comprises a rectangular body portion having a longitudinal bore which is adapted for receiving the metallic earring post, a plastic post extending outwardly from the body portion, a small notch at the upper edge of the body portion adjacent to the bore, and a plastic clutch. For assembly of the adaptor with an earring, the metallic post of the earring is bent downwardly, and slidably inserted into the bore so that a rearwardly extending portion of the earring post is received in the notch when the downwardly extending portion of the post is fully inserted into the body portion. The notch effectively prevents the earring from rotating when assembled with the adaptor. The plastic post is adapted for insertion through the pierced lobe of a wearer and the clutch is frictionally received thereon so that the assembly may be worn in a conventional manner.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide an adaptor which enables a pierced earring having an ornament and a metallic post to be converted into a pierced earring assembly having a plastic post.
It is another object to provide a plastic post on an earring assembly wherein the plastic post has a diameter which is no larger than the diameter of a conventional metallic post.
It is still another object to provide an adaptor which is easily assembled and disassembled from an earring so that it may be utilized with a plurality of different earrings.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.